Government seems to be unfazed about the rate of teachers leaving the classrooms on a yearly basis. A draft report of a survey commissioned by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Teachers, and Education Workers Union (TEWU), revealed that the Ghana Education Service (GES) estimates that about 10,000 teachers leave the classroom every year for various reasons. But the Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Joseph Annan says discourse on the issue should be done holistically because the range between those the system absorbs from the various training institutions and the retention rate is not “huge”. He noted that it was not surprising that people leave the classrooms in pursuit of other lucrative jobs, explaining the teaching profession is more or less a stepping stone to secure other jobs. “The teaching profession is one through which many different professionals pass through. As a parliamentarian myself, I look around Parliament I can see probably 50 or 60 percent [of MP who were teachers].” A teacher, currently on study leave, says she is uncertain whether she will go back to the classroom, noting that her colleagues also share the same sentiment. She told Joy News her doubt to return to the classroom is largely because the salary “is not attractive to retain people”. She hoped to secure a “more respectable and lucrative job” after her studies. Meanwhile, the Head of Policy and Research of TUC, Kwabena Nyarko, is asking the government to put in measures that would motivate teachers to stay in the classrooms, for instance providing basic amenities to deprived communities. Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana